If doing business over the Internet seems like a great way to boost your company's bottom line, then securing your Web site so that electronic transactions are safe for customers should be a top priority.
A survey by CommerceNet and Nielsen Media Research in the United States found that although 73 per cent of Americans who use the Internet spend some time on-line searching for information about a specific product or service, only 15 per cent - or about 5.6 million people - have used it to purchase something on the Net.
The main reason was that most people still did not trust the security of electronic payments made over the World-Wide Web, the survey said.
The president and chief executive of CommerceNet, Randall Whiting, said: 'While the numbers confirm that the Internet has become an established shopping vehicle, clearly changes in technology, product offerings and perceptions are needed before most people will want to buy on-line.' Most industry experts believe that the Internet has the potential to become a relatively safe and accepted medium for conducting business, but companies must take precautions to ensure transactions are secure from hackers.
Some of the key considerations include: Privacy. Are personal information, credit card numbers, and customer-sensitive pricing data adequately protected? Authentication. Are passwords and cryptographic keys effective? Integrity. When messages and information are sent back and forth, are they intercepted or changed along the way? Confidence. How does the buyer know that this Web site and transaction are safe? The director of security for Open Market, Win Treese, said: 'Is the Internet safe for commerce? We think it can be, but it isn't always.
'On the Internet, everyone is in the same neighbourhood. There aren't any good areas or bad areas. What it comes down to for the customer is a gut feeling: is this safe or not. A few bad sites spoil it for everyone.' An important first step to securing Internet transactions is separating the content of a Web site (product listings and information) from the management of the transaction. This simplified the problem by isolating the transactions for high-security protection, Mr Treese said.